Monday, September 22, 2014

(In the Light of the Law) There are basically two groups agitating for annulment reform, one
saying that there are too many annulments, the other saying that there
are too few. Let me suggest that (a) the first group is mistaken if it
thinks the annulment problem lies in the annulment process (ie, Book VII of the 1983 Code and Dignitas connubii) and (b) the second group seeks not so much reform of the annulment process as its effective abolishment.

The first group (those holding that there are too many annulments), can scarcely suggest any procedural
reforms (short of requiring tribunals to stamp DENIED on every
annulment petition) for nothing about current canon and special law
makes declaring marriage nullity easy. Under current ecclesiastical law,
nullity must be proven, on specific grounds, based on sworn
declarations and testimony, over the arguments of an independent
officer, and confirmed on appeal. There are, that I can see, no gaps in
the process through which marriage cases may slip quietly but wrongly into nullity. Not even the oft-reviled Canon 1095 (the
“psychological” canon upon which most annulments around the world are
based) can be written off as a mere legislative novelty for it
articulates (as best positive law can) jurisprudence developed by the Roman Rota itself over the last 60 or 70 years.

No, the objections of the first group to the number of annulments being declared is, I suggest, not to the annulment process
but to the people running that process. Tribunal officers are, it is
alleged, too naive, too heterodox, or just too lazy to reach sound
decisions on nullity petitions; they treat annulments as tickets to a
second chance at happiness owed to people who care enough to fill out
the forms. How exactly members of this first group can reach their
conclusion without extended experience in tribunal work and without
adverting to the cascade of evidence that five decades of social
collapse in the West and a concomitant collapse of catechetical and
canonical work in the Church is wreaking exactly the disastrous effects
on real people trying to enter real marriages that the Church has always
warned about, escapes me. Nevertheless that is essentially their claim:
the process needs no major reform, processors do.

Neither can the second group (those holding that there are too few
annulments) credibly point to specific reforms of the annulment process for (with two exceptions noted below) every phase of the current annulment process is required by natural law to serve the ends of justice (and, as Pope St. John Paul II repeatedly reminded us, the annulment process is about justice—not mercy, not charity, not warm fuzzy feelings, but justice); to eliminate any of these steps would be to gut the unavoidably juridic
nature of the annulment process. Natural law requires that presumptions
(here, of validity) be overturned only for specific reasons (here,
grounds) demonstrated by objective information (here, declarations and
testimony) weighed by independent minds (here, judges) subject to review
by superiors (here, appeal). Remove any of these steps and, whatever
‘process’ one is left with, it’s not a legal one. Thus I
say, push proponents of the second school to be clear, and what most of
them must admit seeking is the “de-juridicization” of the annulment
process. It’s their right, of course, to make such a proposal, but one
should not confuse calls tantamount to elimination of a process with
calls for reform of a process. More about that call, below.

First, though, it must be acknowledged that two aspects of the current annulment process are not required by natural law to achieve justice, namely... (continued)

“How many voices in our materialist society tell us that happiness is to be found by acquiring as many possessions and luxuries as we can? But this is to make possessions into a false god. Instead of bringing life, they bring death.”- Pope Benedict XVI

"This past Wednesday I was in part of the hospital that was devoted to people who have memory problems like my father. The people here may have no idea who I am but they light up at the sight of a collar. People who cannot carry on a conversation click “on” and join in prayer as if there were little wrong with them, their faces relaxing in this moment of peace amidst the chaos of illness."- Fr. Valencheck

"The priest's life is not his own. He does not live it for himself and his personal fulfillment, but for the salvation of souls."- Fr. Richtsteig

"I am convinced that if we simply follow the liturgical books, say the texts and carry out the gestures properly, in a style continuous with our tradition, the Church’s liturgy has power the capture minds and hearts and transform them.

I starting forming this conviction before I became a Catholic through my experience of Novus Ordo Masses done in an entirely Roman traditional style, closely following the books.

The late Msgr. Richard Schuler would eventually articulate to me in words what I was experiencing in the church. "Just do what the Council asked… do what the Church asks."

Why is worship well executed according to the mind of the Church so effective?

Christ is the true Actor in the sacred action of the Church’s worship. He makes our hands and voices His own as He raises our petitions and offerings to the Father for His glory and our salvation.

Christ’s Holy Church has determined the way by which we may have this encounter with mystery in the liturgy, be taken up in the sacred action.

Although we have the right to our Rite celebrated as the Church desires, liturgy is not about me or us or even you in the pews." - Fr. Zuhlsdorf

"After celebrating Mass facing the Lord I can report these favorable effects from the priest's point of view:

1. I don't have to worry about where to look
2. I don't have to worry about what my face looks like
3. I can weep at the beauty and wonder of it all without concern
4. I can worship more freely and fully
5. I feel more at one with the people of God
6. I am on a journey to God with the people
7. I am not the focus of attention
8. The elevation of the host and the Ecce Agnus Dei have become more of a focus
9. I feel more part of the great tradition
10. I can't see who's not paying attention and feel I have to do something to get their attention back." - Fr. Longenecker

"My rector in Denver, when he was a young priest, was eating dinner at his secretary's house, a widow from Sicily. Thinking he was polite he said, 'If you wish you can call me Michael.' She stopped, put her hand on her hip, and, pointing at him with her wooden spoon, said, 'Don't think I call you Father because I think you're better than me! I call you Father to remind you who you're supposed to be and how you're going to be judged by our Lord!' He passes that lesson on to all his seminarians."- Fr. Andrew

Decalogue Against Temptation

1. Do not forget that the devil exists.
2. Do not forget that the devil is a tempter.
3. Do not forget that the devil is very intelligent and astute.
4. Be vigilant concerning your eyes and heart. Be strong in spirit and virtue.
5. Believe firmly in the victory of Christ over the tempter.
6. Remember that Christ makes you a participant in His victory.
7. Listen carefully to the word of God.
8. Be humble and love mortification.
9. Pray without flagging.
10. Love the Lord your God and offer worship to Him only.